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Emergency Landing; 7~9 Injured in Evacuation

The
landing itself, a bit hurried to be sure, was fine; however,
reports say as many as nine PAX were injured when evacuating an Air
Tran 717 at LaGuardia (NY), after Flight 356 made its late-night
flight from Atlanta, Wednesday night.

The crew detected smoke and declared an emergency, and came
straight into the scheduled destination. The source of the smoke is
being sought.

There were sixty-three passengers and five crew members aboard.
The airport closed from 10:45 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., when one runway
was reopened.

Only three other 717 incidents show up in the NTSB's
directory:

February 19, 2001: a TWA 717 sustained an in-flight thrust
reverser deployment following a takeoff from General Mitchell
International Airport

August 9, 2001: a TWA 717's nose gear was unable to be
extended, an emergency was declared, and the airplane made an
emergency landing coming to rest on its nose and main landing
gear.

January 11, 2003: a Hawaiian 717 experienced an uncommanded
roll to the left during the climb to cruise after departure.

According to the NTSB's database, this is the first time anyone
has been injured on a 717 flight.